Meryl Streep and Carey Mulligan kept having laughing fits on the set of Suffragette.

The actresses star alongside each other in the empowering film about the women that led the early feminist movement in the UK.

Despite not knowing each other before the project, they immediately got on like a house on fire. In fact, director Sarah Gavron had her hands full.

“Well we had this cast, and none had worked together before, but when we got together to rehearse they all immediately formed this bond – I had nothing to do with it,” Sarah laughed at Suffragette’s press conference during the London Film Festival.

“They became friends. One of the problems was getting them to stop laughing!”

Suffragette stands out in Hollywood as it’s such a strong female cast. With Sarah directing and Abi Morgan behind the screenplay, they are really paving the way for women in the industry.

“It was an unusual sense of camaraderie and I wonder if one of the reasons was there was this unusual balance,” Sarah mused. “We had men and we had lots of women in key positions. It was exciting to have lots of women on screen together.”

Meryl plays famous feminist activist Emmeline Pankhurst in the feature but only has a very minor part. Instead the focus is on Maud Watts, a working class girl with tonnes of conviction. While Meryl jokes she wouldn’t have minded more scenes, she acknowledges the importance of making a relatable movie.

“The great achievement of this film is that it’s about a working girl and that’s why we can understand this film so easily and empathetically,” she explained. “Because Carey plays a launderer who looks like us.”